‘Until Republican voters and lawmakers are willing to hold Trump to account this sub-standard Superman will continue to punch holes in the values that have defined America...’
Christopher Bucktin:
THERE is no bigger fan of Donald Trump than Donald Trump.
Ever since he bragged he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still win the White House, he’s styled himself as the Teflon Don.
If the billionaire, who recently called himself America’s “favourite president”, was made of chocolate he’d eat himself.
But whether it’s his “treasonous” friendship with Vladimir Putin, boasting about grabbing women by the p **** , calling African nations “s***holes” or allegedly cheating on his wife with a porn star, one thing we know about Trump is that he is immune to scandal.
Any UK politician would be destroyed by his wrongdoings, but for the US leader, it merely adds to his Superman Syndrome.
Whereas such scandals would be kryptonite to any other president, the US leader has become emboldened as he starts to see himself as invincible. In Trump’s mind, what doesn’t kill him only makes him stronger.
Take this week.
After more than a year of protesting that his team had not colluded with the Russians to ensure his election victory, on Tuesday he appeared to lay the foundations for a defence should facts suggest otherwise.
He tweeted that collusion isn’t illegal, stating flatly that it isn’t a crime after his lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, first raised what could be a new legal tack amid the swirling Russia probe.
In doing so, the President endorsed a theory that could allow his legal team to argue that even if members of his campaign team did meet with Russians about digging up dirt on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election race, they did nothing wrong because there is no specific crime called ‘collusion’ with a foreign power on the statute books. But now, with little more than three months left until the crucial midterm elections, his biggest hurdle may be ahead as opposition Democrats look to win control of the House.
This victory could leave the President vulnerable to a possible impeachment attempt. The House is where any such proceedings would begin.
But the Democrats walk a fine line. Any hint of impeachment talk has only served to polarise states’ electorates, drawing crucial swing voters towards the President.
Leading Democrats know that although the midterms may see a shift in their favour, come the 2020 election, another backlash, this time against Democrats, could hand Trump another four years in office.
There is little doubt that floating voters who went for Trump in 2016 are now turning their backs on him.
There are signs that, as he fails to adhere to his own “America First” mantra in terms of his family businesses, his global trade war has started to backfire.
But Trump’s tactic of invoking fear only to then strike a deal, as he did with EU President Jean-Claude Juncker last week, leaves his hardcore support thinking Trump really does have the art of the deal.
His pledge that a “new phase” in the relationship between the European Commission members and the States as they work toward “zero tariffs” on industrial goods, leaves the UK in a precarious position.
Any deal with the Union would almost certainly push Britain further back in the queue following Brexit, as any potential UK deal would be minuscule compared to one with its European competitor.
But just when is the chaos going to end? Surely with another two years of his signature scandals to follow, is the electorate really going to put Trump back in the Oval Office? Many here think it will. Despite plunging their party into crisis, Republicans are fearful to speak out against Trump, knowing the loyalty he still commands from voters could see them lose their seat if they rebel.
The millions of Americans who form his base seem happy to ignore the President’s twisting of the facts and bullying tactics.
Until Republican voters and lawmakers are willing to hold him to account for his behaviour, this sub-standard Superman will continue to punch holes in the values that have defined America since its inception.
He [Trump] tweeted that collusion isn’t illegal, stating flatly that it isn’t a crime after his lawyer, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, first raised what could be a new legal tack amid the swirling Russia probe .... Rudy Giuliani, right, appeared to lay groundwork for a potential Trump defence